The high school myth surrounding ‘annoying freshmen’ may be true but should a few bad outliers determine who can use the library freely? I think not. While some freshmen may see the library as a place to be distracting to others and obnoxious, there are some, including me, a freshman, that feel the library should be open for freshmen at all times.

The current library policy for freshmen dictates us to only use the library before or after school or during a lunch period. The only time freshmen can use the library during study hall, which all freshmen are required to have, is when we have a pass from a teacher in order to work on a project or a whole class is going with their teacher. The current policy that applies to every other grade says that they can use the library whenever they want.

The library staff claims that the reason why freshmen are limited to using the library is due to spacing. However, the library is first come, first serve. That would mean that if freshmen were able to use the library freely, then everyone would have the same opportunity to get to the library. If a student really wanted to use it, they would try and get there as soon as possible.

It also seems that the reason why freshmen can’t enjoy the freedom of the library is that people are under the impression that freshmen will fool around. And while this may be true, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t remedies to this issue. The library can come up with a system to reprimand any student who is behaving in an improper way. They could use a system of tallies; if you get a certain amount of infractions, you can’t use the library for a certain period of time. The assumption that some freshmen misbehave should not govern who gets access to the resources that others get to use. Students may even misbehave because they are not being given the same resources others are getting.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors are able to use the library during their free periods. There is no stipulation preventing them from using it. They just have to “scan in and respect the space.” When walking into the library, it appears that some students go in to hangout with their friends or take a break from chaotic school life.

If a student wishes to use the library, whether that be to get work done or simply use the library for a place to have some peace, then that student should be able to. The idea that freshmen can be restricted from using the library simply because we are freshmen is not reason enough to prevent an entire class from using the library as others do. The library should be a place for all students to go to no matter who they are.